Sniffles
by Shadows On A Love-Struck Soul
Summary: Arthur has the sniffles and Melrin has to look after him. Got the idea from when I had a cold. Thank blackfyre94 for the name. Better than it sounds. Rated T bor boykissing MerlinxArthur ;p oneshot fluff


'Merlin?' Gaius called 'Merlin?' Merlin's head pooped up from a table where he was mopping up some spilt water.

'Yes?' he asked brightly.

'Merlin, Arthur is ill in bed. He has influenza; I cannot treat him because I have to treat other patients and I can't pass infections on to people who are already ill.'

Merlin looked confused.

'So you must treat him,' Gaius elaborated. 'Good God my boy do you need everything to be spelled out for you?' Gaius roiled his eyes and moved off.

'But…hang on!' Merlin called. 'I don't know anything about influenza! I don't know how to look after him!'

Gaius turned back to Merlin; 'He'll be running a fever, you'll need to keep him cool. But he will fluctuate between hot and cold, you have to keep him at normal temperature. And once the worst has past he will have a terrible cold'

Merlin sat nervously in the corner of Arthur's room, his knees jogging up and down. He reached forwards and put his palm to Arthur's forehead, he was warm, so Merlin opened the window. A few hours later Arthur's head was cool, so Merlin closed the window and stoked the fire up. Soon Arthur was warm again and the window opened. This went on for a day or two; Merlin would not sleep at the beginning, he so wanted to help Arthur get better that he didn't want to waste a second sleeping. Soon he would sleep fitfully for about three hours, check on Arthur, make any adjustments like the window or the fire, and then sleep again.

But soon Gaius called him back to his chambers to check on what he was doing. When he told him; 'keeping the room cool when he is hot, keeping the room warm when he is cold' Gaius shook his head, gravely.

'No, Merlin you don't understand. He can be burning up in the iciest winds with this fever. He could be shivering in pure sunlight. You have to do more than keep the room right,'

Merlin nodded. 'Right…I'll um…r-right' and then he left.

When Merlin got back to Arthur's room Arthur was burning up. He was asleep, in some sort of twisted dream that made him turn in the sheets from side to side and moan out into the quiet. Merlin fetched a cloth and some water and took a deep breath before peeling back Arthur's sheets to the waist and removing his shirt.

Merlin dipped the cloth into the water and wrung it out, so tiny droplets of water would leave the cloth and bury themselves deep down in the bucket, sending ripples across the surface of the water. The now damp cloth was spread across Merlin's hand and he brought it with smooth, gentle strokes across Arthur's chest. His own breathing was the only thing Merlin could hear as his heart pumped faster and faster, like a drum beat before a hanging; he hoped his actions weren't going to cause him such a foreboding end.

Days passed and Arthur git a little stronger every day. Eventually, he got the cold Gaius had warned Merlin about and Arthur was sat up in bed with pillows behind him to keep him upright. He had endless bowls of soup but it didn't seem to make him any better. Merlin was beginning to get tired of hearing Arthur sniff every two seconds so he went and asked Gaius if there was anything that would make the cold go away.

'Yes,' Gaius said simply. 'Raw magic,'

'And how do I give Arthur raw magic without him knowing?' Merlin asked.

'The only way it can transfer from one person to another' Gaius replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world 'a kiss.'

'A WHAT?' Merlin shouted.

'A kiss,' Gaius repeated.

'The things I do for the prince of Camelot,' Merlin sighed before loping off back to Arthur's chambers.

Arthur welcomed Merlin with a sniff.

'Now, Sire, Gaius has told me the only cure for your cold so before I do it you have to promise me you are not going to behead me for it afterwards.'

'Look Berlin;' Arthur said through a bunged up nose 'I dod't care what it is if it will stop be fleelig this wretched. Just do it, I won'd hag you for it,'

'Ok,' Merlin replied, 'If you're sure-' and with that Merlin leaned forwards across the bed sheets and kissed Arthur, full on the lips; he slipped his tongue into Arthur's mouth and explored every crevice; running his tongue along Arthur's teeth. Eventually he pulled away and looked at Arthur, half worried, half cheeky.

'What was that for?!' Arthur exploded without the slightest trace of illness anymore. 'Merlin I demand to know why you did that?'

Merlin began to explain but Arthur cut across him.

'And why you didn't do it long ago,' he said, before pulling Merlin closer and kissing him again, deeper, harder, longer this time.

Merlin sat on Arthur's lap and wrapped his arms round his prince; thinking as he did so, that he wouldn't mind at all the next time Arthur had the sniffles.


End file.
